“Once you hit 80, it’s a whole new ball game,” – My mama (82). What changes have you seen in your life after 80, or your parents’ lives? Has it occurred to you that nothing seems normal? From my point of view, life after 80 becomes a series of ups and downs and all arounds. […]

“I just don’t understand anything about this world anymore,” My mama says. It’s no wonder older people spend a lot of time thinking about the way things used to be. Let’s face it; they have a lot more years behind them . . . happier years, than they do in front of them. Those years […]

Dehydration is one of the top reasons seniors end up at the doctor’s office. If you’re a senior, dehydration is an even higher liability for landing you in the hospital. Now is the time for all good seniors to drink more water! Of course, every body is different. Seniors with heart conditions need to follow […]

It’s important for all people, especially seniors, to find safe and effective ways to manage their medications. But people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia most often need special help. People who have mild dementia are often able to live on their own and function independently. But progressive cognitive losses affecting memory, attention, […]

What have you or your older loved one wanted to do before summer is over for another year? Oh, those bucket lists. Some of them can be daring but many of us just want simple pleasures. Our small town’s Chamber of Commerce hosted a Hot Air Balloon Festival. It was glorious! Huge balloons went up […]

While the benefits afforded by the Medicare and Medicaid programs are held dear by many seniors, the complications connected to them are not. And recent research reveals that consumers, particularly seniors with low incomes, are most often caught in the crossfire between the bureaucracies of healthcare providers and government agencies. As a result, they are […]

“When you get into your 80s, it’s a whole new ball game,” my mama has told me so many times in the past few years. She’s 82 and daddy’s 85 and the past few years have been a struggle of one type or another. It doesn’t look like there’s an end in sight. Mama’s the […]

“Seniors have special issues,” says Beverly A. Potter, a California psychologist who goes by the moniker DocPotter. And then she launches into a litany of them: aches and pains caused by arthritis and other diseases common to aging, anxiety and depression due to isolation, chronic trouble sleeping. All these conditions, she says, can be treated […]

Daddy has been feeling well enough to work outside with mama and fix a few sprinklers. That was until all the fires began to rage. Now he’s not feeling so good! If you live in California you may find out the quality of the air in your area by visiting the EPA Air Now website. […]

The older I get, the more I look back into my family tree and realize that the people I came from were or are amazing and yes — inspirational. From my granny who raised fourteen children on her own to my Choctaw great-great-great grandfather who could have gotten land from the government for free but […]